Internal Polity

Abstract

Innovation in the governance of external polities prompts a resonant internal rhetoric. This paper attempts to expand the concepts of citizenship and individuality by applying political language to the internal life of individuals. Repression has been a conditional means of civilizing the psyche, but in pluralistic democracies where diversity is valued, where assimilation is not a condition of citizenship and where aspirations are formed within consumerism, this tradition of self-definition may be insufficient. At a time when neither individualism nor collectivism seem able to nurture individuality, the idea of an internal polity can enrich self-awareness and strengthen a sense of agency in the world. (See Appendix for definitions of terms.)